Hero
by HaloNoir
Summary: JJ's terrified and Hotch steps in to be her hero. Who knows, maybe this will lead to good things. JJ/Hotch hinted at. Drama/Humour/Romance.


**AN: This is post-divorce Hotch and either pre-Will JJ or just a world when that never happened!**

Shit, shit, shit!

JJ tried to gather her breathing, hands clenching and unclenching. She could do this. If she could shoot a man through the head from twenty paces without blinking, she sure as hell could do this. She shook her hands out and pulled her ID from her jacket pocket.

This badge had dealt with rapists, paedophiles and serial killers, but this might be its biggest challenge yet. C'mon Jayje, man up, she told herself before she spun on her heel to eye up her opponent, feeling the comforting weight of her gun on her belt – not that she could use it here.

No movement. She took a step closer. Nothing. She could lean over now, almost touch him. She gingerly extended the badge, trying to stop the shaking of her hand. Don't let him smell your fear. The badge stopped short of him and she sucked in a lungful of air before she slid the badge up beneath her enemy. Still no movement. This was almost making it worst. He couldn't be dead, could he? That'd be too easy, surely.

The badge touched him and suddenly there was a flurry of movement, coming right at her.

"Fuck!" She screamed as she pivoted away, dropping into a crouch, aware that she was screaming in the highest, girliest possible way.

There was no noise save her own heartbeat thudding wildly in her chest now. She tried to get her breathing under control, every instinct telling her to keep her eyes open, but blind panic keeping them shut. She managed to stand up, praying that that rustling she was hearing wasn't in the room with her.

She opened her eyes. Nothing. Where the hell had that son of a bitch gone? She moved to investigate but before she could take a step the door flew open with a crash, ricocheting off the wall, leaving a mark – she was pretty sure the management wasn't going to like that. Hotch barrelled into the room, looking a little worse for wear, suit jacket missing.

"JJ, are you okay? What's wrong" He asked with real urgency, and for a split second it occurred to JJ that she might have been overreacting. Then it emerged again and she was moving like the wind over to him.

"Moth, moth, moth, moth, moth!" She practically threw herself behind him, gripping at his shoulders.

"Seriously, Jayje?" He tried to look at her scornfully but couldn't quite get a good look at her, what with her head against his back, "You scared the bejeesus out of me for a moth?"

"It's not just a moth. It's the biggest fucking moth I've ever seen and it keeps going to land on my pillow, so I can't get into bed."

Hotch sighed. So much for his thinking that JJ was the most well balanced member of his team.

"Okay, where is it?" Her head came up, hopefully, "I'll deal with it."

"Really?"

"Well, you're no good to me with no sleep." He couldn't help but smile at her, he'd never seen her like this.

"I think it's over there." She pointed towards the head of her bed and he moved towards it, grabbing a newspaper from the desk as he went.

"No! You can't kill it!" Her hands were insistent on his shoulders and he groaned.

"Seriously?"

"Yes! Just because he freaks me out, it doesn't mean he deserves to be smushed!"

He let out another groan of annoyance before he traded the newspaper for a glass and piece of hotel stationery instead. He moved forwards again, but JJ was still hanging onto his back and was clearly not going to let go. This could be a challenge.

They were almost at the bedside table. No sign of life. Maybe it had gotten out of the door when he'd come in. Hotch was about to share this theory with JJ when _it_ suddenly remerged, flying directly at them like a kamikaze. He found himself tripping backwards to get away from it, treading on JJ's foot as he did so and landing them both on the bed.

"Jeepers!"

Fuck, thought Hotch. That was the biggest fucking moth he'd ever seen in his life, easily six inches across.

"We're going to need a bigger boat." JJ sighed, pulling her leg out from under him as she stood up in the middle of the bed. Hotch stood too, and they both looked around the room, trying to spot it.

It popped out at them again – what the hell was wrong with this bug!, Hotch wondered. JJ screamed again and buried her head in his shirt, fisting her hands in his shirt. He found his arms circling her naturally. He shouted something or other as he failed to keep his cool in the face of the scariest UNSUB he'd face in a long while.

JJ's shrieking stopped abruptly and she pulled her head back, looking at him in total bafflement.

"What?"

"Seriously, Hotch? I thought 'jeepers'? and 'bejeesus' was bad enough."

"What? What did I say?"

"Are you seriously denying that you said it? Seriously?"

"JJ, I 100 per cent have no idea what you're talking about."

JJ's head tipped back, exposing that gorgeous throat and laughed, hanging off the front of his shirt, "Murgatroyd! You said, and I quote, 'Heavens to Murgatroyd'!" She was cackling away and he felt himself chuckling along with her – it was hard not to. "What's with the fuddy-duddy swearing?"

He waited for her to calm down before he replied, small smile on his face, "Well, I'm trying to be good about cussing, for when I'm around Jack. I don't get to see him as much as I'd like to, and I don't want the memories he does have of me to involve me swearing like a sailor," she smiled at him tenderly and he was afraid he'd killed the mood, "or, y'know, you." She chuckled and they were back.

"That's really sweet, Hotch. You're a great dad."

He smiled at her, for what felt like the umpteenth time in the last five minutes, "You can call me Aaron, you know, when we're not working, or when we're under siege from the terrifying Mothzilla-"

"It's Mothra," she cut in cheerfully, "You wouldn't believe the conversation I had with Spence about this."

"Maybe he can get rid of it?"

"Maybe."

"Or maybe we could leave the windows open and I could buy you a drink downstairs?"

JJ flushed and looked down before looking back up at him through her eyelashes – he didn't worry for a second that he'd crossed a line, which was unusual.

"I'd love that, Aaron."

There was a beat and he wondered if he should kiss her. But then there was a rustle and flash of malign brown evilness in the corner of his eye and Jayje was screaming again, clambering onto his back, screaming at him to run. And run he did, grabbing JJ's heels by the door and then slamming it shut.

Maybe he'd missed that moment, but as he walked to the elevator, black pumps in hand and gorgeous woman on his back, he couldn't help but be unafraid. After all, this had been a good moment. He hoped there would be a lot more good moments.

**AN: This is my first attempt at trying to write something lighter. I hope it worked? Drop me a line and let me know!**


End file.
